That didn't take long, did it? Many had expected del Potro to take at least 3 months, perhaps closer to 6 months to come back, and within two months or so, he's already won a title. del Potro went from winning a match in a tournament, to winning two matches, to getting to the semifinals
Who knows if these meetings will become a regular event? Is Djokovic making a push to be in the top 2? As the defending champ, Djokovic actually has to win in Dubai to keep his points while Federer skipped Dubai last year due to an illness and only stands to gain points. Nonetheless, it says
The match had been nip and tuck the whole way. Raonic had a chance to win the first set, but played a sloppy point, and let Roddick take the first tiebreak. Then, Roddick took an early break in the second set, and it seemed Raonic's spirits was dashed. But, no, he broke back, and eventually
Robin Soderling, ranked number 4 in the world, reached that rank by playing consistently well in Slams and Masters 1000 events. He hasn't, however, won that many tournaments. Last year, he won Rotterdam (over Youzhny) and he won Paris. That was it. This year, barely a month into the new year, Soderling has won two
After being pushed to 5 sets, Roger Federer got to play Xavier Malisse, someone Roger has known since he was a teenager. Roger has generally fared very well against his generation of players, whether it be Andy Roddick or Jurgen Melzer or Lleyton Hewitt or, indeed, Xavier Malisse. Although Malisse was able to break Federer
In a surprise move, Viktor Troicki retired after losing 6-2 in the first set after an abdominal strain. I'm sure someone is likely to suggest that this might have been "arranged" so Djokovic would not tire himself early on, at least in hushed whispers. In any case, Djokovic is the first player to reach the
The Spaniards may have fell by the wayside during Wimbledon (except, of course, Rafa), but they have come out in force at the US Open, and no more so fully than today. Let's start with Rafa Nadal. He played Gilles Simon. Simon has beaten Nadal before, but it was back in 2008 when Simon was
Ryan Harrison is only 18 years old and may become one of the top Americans. It's tough for American tennis at the very top. Querrey and Isner are in the top 20, but the question is whether either player can play top 10 tennis. Querrey probably has the better upside because he moves better, but
It is a bit weird. The Spanish game seems better suited to clay than other surfaces. Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco, Juan Carlos Ferrero. Sure, many of these players can play other surfaces, but clay seems to be very Spanish. This is backed up by recent Spanish winners of the French Open. Aside from
After Wimbledon winds down, the tour diverges for a few weeks. Those who head to the US, can play Newport, the last grass event of the year, and a little over a week after Newport ends, the US Open Series starts up the hard court season. There are, much to Nadal's chagrin, three hard court
